A Coca-Cola Pride billboard in Times Square in New York City. (Getty/ Noam Galai)
Coca-Cola, Walt Disney and makers of Budweiser and Stella Artois are among US companies that have helped fund ‘insurgent, anti-LGBTQ+, anti-voting and anti-choice legislation’, a new base has revealed. of data.
On Tuesday, September 27, Head of equality action (AFEA) – an organization set up to “measure the alliance based on corporate contributions” – has launched its Database of true allies.
The database tracks corporate donations to US politicians behind legislation blocking LGBTQ+, voting and reproductive rights.
Using data from 2016, AFEA has identified more than 130,000 corporate donations supporting more than 1,000 lawmakers co-sponsoring bills to remove these rights.
Companies of note include Coca-Cola, which gave $93,078 to 125 state lawmakers listed as co-sponsors of “insurgent, anti-LGBTQ+, anti-voting and anti-choice legislation.”
These included senators and representatives calling for the 2020 election results to be overturned, and to state lawmakers in South Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky and Texas who have lobbies for anti-trans bills against inclusive sports, healthcare and education.
Anheuser-Busch Co, the beer producer that makes Budweiser, Stella Artois and Hoegaarden, gave $235,449 to 182 state lawmakers, while Comcast Corporation and NBC Universal and its affiliates gave $653,101 to 234 state lawmakers. State.
Walmart donated $496,497, Walt Disney donated $32,000, energy company Chevron donated $353,900, and pharmaceutical company Pfizer donated $364,250 in anti-LGBTQ+ donations.
Other companies listed in the database include Target, Rite Aid, Expedia, Facebook, AirBnb, T-Mobile, Paypal, Ebay, McDonald’s, Home Depot, and Walgreen’s.
Companies must ‘review’ political donations
Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, said of the results: “Following unprecedented anti-LGBTQ legislation and attacks in rhetoric and violence, the bar for the alliance companies should be and has been taken up.
“Consumers, employees and our community today demand that companies go beyond inclusive internal policies and hiring practices to also engage in external actions such as public positions on legislation and the review of political donations to anti-LGBTQ politicians.
“Simply put, Authentic Allied Businesses refrain from donating money to those working to roll back LGBTQ+ rights. The Real Allies site provides an essential resource for community members and their allies to instantly see if a company is funding anti-LGBTQ+ politicians.
Tiq Milan, journalist, lawyer and spokesperson for AFEA added: “We are at a decisive moment for our country.
“Anti-LGBTQ, anti-choice, anti-suffrage, pro-insurgency – these labels can be applied to too many politicians who are funded by big corporations where we spend money and where we work.
“Collectively, we have an obligation to end the assault on our rights, to hold corporate America accountable, and to ensure that corporations are a force for positive change. We’re calling on advocates, employees and customers to speak up and tell these companies to do better.
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